Start at 3

Ross is the absolute baby in his family. No cousins to speak of (some estranged but nobody close like my 13), no younger siblings, nothing. Thus he has always had a sort of fear of kids.

We've always been very clear: we will have our own children. That doesn't mean kids don't freak him out though. They totally do. He hasn't the faintest idea what to do with them. Hold a baby? No way. Change a diaper? Only with an SCBA mask. Play with them? How??

Yesterday we party-hopped for football games and he headed to round 2 before me. I called for directions and out of nowhere he says "Hey, I like kids."

HUH? What?? What do kids have to do with which street light I turn at?

Turns out round 2, which was his closer group of friends (round 1 was mine) ended up including more kiddos than ever this weekend. I never really think of this bunch as having kids but I suppose that's wrong. Two of the guys have their little girls every other weekend, and one of those (Nick) has a new baby (Blake) with is wife (Kristi), another couple has a three year old but who is usually with grandma-babysitter for parties and another couple who I don't know as well apparently has two with one on the way. And all these kids were at yesterday's football festivities.

Usually this would make Ross run for the hills. He just doesn't know what to do, poor guy. But there was no running for the hills this week! The two first grade girls apparently leached onto him when he arrived. And the three year old followed suit like a good younger child. Apparently at one point he had a child in each arm and one attached to his leg. Like everyone's favorite uncle. I wish I had pictures!

And you know what - he liked it. He said it was fun. And he was head over heels for little Madison (the three year old). Late in the night he even tried to put her in bed to a movie...she told him no and being inexperienced with kids, he didn't have a reubttal so she won. God help us if we have a daughter as cute as her. Ross will be a goner!

Right now he's hoping we can have kids who just start at three years old. (I don't know who he thinks will birth him this three year old.)

To go from being scared of kids to liking them at ages 3+ is a big step. I mean we may be on the road to him even liking newborns by the time we get around to having our own. Kiddos 1, Ross 0.